For all you fathers out there, Happy post Father’s Day. Thank you for raising your children, bringing them up to be ready for the challenges this world brings and giving them a chance to grow themselves.

I found this article in the family spectrum magazine, one of the Omaha publications. This information is not really on the brighter side of things, but it is important for everyone to know about.

Celebrating Fatherhood: An important Missing Link — Fathers are Necessary to the Healthy Development of Children.

Anthony has been raised by a loving mother and other family members for the past 11 years, but there is a huge hole in his heart… his missing father. … Research shows that a loving and nurturing father improves outcomes for children, families and communities, and fathers who live with their children are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children. Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors including drug use, truancy, and criminal activity. The growing absence of fathers in children’s lives has emerged as one of our nation’s greatest social problems, resulting in lost opportunities for children and a financial burden to society.

American children are in crisis and families are in need of assistance due to father absence. Statistics consistently point out that children who grow up without their fathers are more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. {RESEARCH: About 75% of children raised in father-absent homes will experience poverty before they reach age 11, compared to only 20% of kids in two parent families.} The truth is this: Children need committed fathers as much as they need their mothers.

Now I don’t know where everyone is coming from, it just might be the situation that a father can not be around his children or something else has happened, but these kind of situation are very serious and detrimental not only to the kids but also for the country as a whole. Thanks to the Fathers that have stayed committed to the children, be biological or adoptive, and committed to their wives (or cooperative) with them.